A timepiece with two easily reversible sides; one with two timezones shown by a two-sided sphere; and a third one which may seem like a tourbillon, but which in fact comes from outer space. These are the deceptive, smart and ingenious watches De Bethune is releasing. To know De Bethune is to expect surprises, and yet they never fail to amaze. Because whatever they do still comes out of left field. Case in point, all three timepieces shown here are the descendants of previous creations, but with their specs heightened beyond recognition.
Janus and Jana
The most visible one of them is definitely the DB Kind of Two Tourbillon. On one side, the classic dial with beautiful guilloché work is reminiscent of the DB28 Maxichrono, down to its unusually seconds ring, graduated in two-second increments. On the other side, a contemporary dial made of polished and domed titanium. It reveals De Bethune’s signature 30-second, 36000 vph tourbillon with proprietary-curve hairspring, aerodynamic balance wheel and generally mindblowing aesthetics which hark back to the 2010 DB28 Tourbillon. All this is framed by a set of floating lugs, another De Bethune classic, which now enables the wearer to flip the case from one face to the other. Two moods, two styles, two sets of hands and a 5-day tourbillon which all fit in a mere 9.5mm.
From Mars
The DB28XP Meteorite features the design seen on the DB28XP Starry Sky released last year and combined with two of De Bethune’s idiosyncrasies. The case is made of zirconium, a rare metal finished in a dark matt gray that looks drop-dead gorgeous. The dial is made of an actual slice of meteorite. Since they’re mainly made of iron, they can be heat-blued, like steel. And that is exactly what De Bethune did, just as it had on the DB28 Kind of Blue Tourbillon Meteorite, which reveals the characteristic entanglement of oblique lines and structures known as a Widmanstätten pattern. It is also enhanced with gold studs like their other Starry models. But don’t be fooled. Like the DB28XP, this is not a tourbillon, but rather an open-dial watch, of the most elaborate kind.
Gaia
The DB25GMT Starry Varius feels like a streamlined and much thinner version of the DB25 World Traveller. Its secondary timezone is shown by a sphere rather than a hand. This is another wink to one of De Bethune’s signature components: the 3-D moon. The sphere rotates along a groove around the dial, and on its own axis. Domed hours, minutes and date ring all point to a central medaillon with highly elaborate finishings. All in all, none of the many features of these three timepieces is completely new, but every single one of them ranges from the highly exclusive to the proprietary. And all of them are off the charts. Combining them in new ways is De Bethune’s means of highlighting its own history, technical legacy, design skills and overall ability of remain one of the most creative brands out there.
